


Bonus Cutscenes

by 1011686



Category: Fortuna (Webcomic)
Genre: Angst, Behind the Scenes, Canon Compliant, F/M, Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:48:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24225349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1011686/pseuds/1011686
Summary: Congratulations! You have successfully completed Fortuna's main campaign on Culture mode, one of the most challenging ways of playing the game. As such, you have unlocked additional story content and cutscene sequences, which can be accessed in the Options menu. Enjoy seeing what your favourite characters were up to while you weren't around, and remember:Everything is going to be alright.
Relationships: Cronus/Rhea
Kudos: 4





	1. Contents

Select scene:

1 - [Dealbreaker](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24225349/chapters/58367755) (Takes place shortly after Apollo is transformed into the Sun God)  
2 - [A Troublesome Spider](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24225349/chapters/58368190) (Takes place in between game 0 and game 1)  
3 - [Construct](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24225349/chapters/65971054) (Takes place during game 1, after Apollo leaves the Underworld)


	2. Dealbreaker

The Underworld was not, on the whole, a particularly interesting place.

Sure, there were plenty of destinations any tourist might find delightful to experience, fields of extreme suffering and blissful paradise, rivers that killed you/erased your memories/made you immortal, weird old ruins left by a technically extinct race, and so on. But there was something about the whole place that just felt so… drab. Perfunctory. Fastidious. Other words that might or might not mean the same thing as boring. Nice to visit for a while, but to have to live there, unable to leave? Nobody would want that, and it was even worse if the only place you were allowed to be was Tartarus, hardly more than a giant hole in the ground (though you wouldn’t want to tell the AI that). It was perfectly reasonable that someone in such a situation might want to take their minds off things, and focus on something more enjoyable.

“It should have spikes on its wings, so that it has something to fend off the gaseous piranhas.”

“Just regular spikes?”

“Well, no. I was thinking they would shoot acid, you know, to help when they’re hunting the spire snakes.”

“Remind me what those were again?”

Rhea scrounged around in the numerous sheets of paper surrounding her, until she found the one she was looking for. She held it up to Cronus, who was lying on the ground, holding up his head with his arms and crossing his legs, looking at her expectantly.

“Right, so, the spire snakes like to live in high-altitude climates, where the air is thinner, because pressure makes them solidify into unbreakable stone. Their natural lifespan is seven hundred years, during which they continually grow in size, though most of them don’t live that long, since a lot of animals hunt them for their mineral content. Like, the batreezas… okay, might still need to work on the name of that one.”

“So, the spire snakes feed on the rodents except when they’re in their ‘domination’ phase, the batreezas hunt the snakes with their acid-shooting wings, the piranhas infiltrate the lungs of the batreezas while they sleep, the tube beetles kill the piranhas whenever they do anything with their second mouth, and…?”

“And what?”

“Aren’t you forgetting something?”

“No, I’m pretty sure that’s everything. It’s a food chain, like you said, though honestly I can’t see why everything can’t just be at the top, that seems like it would be much more exciting to me…”

“What kills the tube beetles?”

“Oh, well, I was thinking maybe just old age, they have a pretty short lifespan you know.”

“It says here that they ‘can only die from loneliness when no other species exists on their planet’." Cronus tapped one of the nearby notes.

“Well, to be fair, that would happen pretty quickly in most scenarios. Plus, they can still be incapacitated if they take enough damage.”

“You gave them nine endurance. And the [Phoenix] trait. You know fauna aren’t supposed to have those right?”

“But it’s thematically fitting!”

“Rhea, honey, no. I love you, but no. I think you know what I have to do now.”

Rhea gasped. “Noooo, anything but that!”

“It’s for the good of the universe.” Cronus took the sheet of paper with the creature’s information and began slowly ripping it into little pieces.

“Noooo, my poor babies!” Rhea held a hand to her chest and struck a dramatic pose of grief. Cronus crumpled up the paper, put it in his mouth, and proceeded to eat it.

“Mmph, you should be thanking me, just think of how sad all those beetles stuck on those planets they wiped out all other life from would be. Really, I’m just saving them the heartache.”

“Is that so?”

“It’s a thankless job, but someone has to do it.” He swallowed the last of the paper with an audible ‘gulp’ and stared at Rhea with a look of intensity. She managed to hold his gaze for a moment, before they both burst into a fit of laughter, neither able to keep up the serious atmosphere.

Rhea flopped down into the piles of paper, sending it flying, and wriggled over to Cronus. She put her arm around his neck and gave him a quick hug.

“One of these days I’m going to make something _without_ telling you, so you’ll just have to deal with it when it appears.”

“Well, maybe one of these days _I’ll_ make an overpowered critter or two, and then you can see how fun it is to eat it.”

“Pft, Cronus you never come up with anything exciting, it’s always ‘oh, this fish can only swim in salt water, and doesn’t even have any teeth or cybernetic mech-suits’.”

“Hey, balance is important, it makes for a better experience!” Cronus gave Rhea an affectionate shove, and she returned it. The two AIs continued play-fighting, until they were interrupted by a sudden tearing in the fabric of reality and the appearance of a black, strangely flat figure. 

“Hey guys! Whatcha doing?”

“Oh, hi there Charles! Just having some friendly discussions about the game, you know, the usual.” Rhea stood up, and began pulling a table, several chairs, maps, writing implements, dice and other paraphernalia out of her inventory, placing them all into the right positions. “You ready to play? I’ve got quite the planet cooked up for today, orbiting in a twin system around a star and a black hole.”

“Oh, wow, you bet! What are the species options going to be? I kinda feel like doing something weird, maybe try out some yellow traits for once.” Charles took his seat at the table, and Rhea passed him a character sheet along with a small notebook filled with statistical information, which he began flipping through.

“I’d recommend putting some points into agility, there’s going to be _lots_ of things you’ll want to run away from in this one.”

“No spoilers!” Rhea chucked a pencil at Cronus, which he caught and held onto. He took his own place and began filling out a character as well.

Once characters were made, the group quickly settled into playing, with Rhea laying out the setting of an expansive world full of little secrets and storylines, while Cronus and Charles played a plucky duo of explorers, intent on discovering the truth behind this strange world on the edge of the known universe. This mission was quickly forgotten, however, when a series of unlikely rolls led to Cronus’s character accidentally releasing a virus that spread through the rest of the galaxy, killing half the population and giving the rest superpowers, while Charles used a combination of his traits, skills and items to justify changing the direction of gravity his character experienced. Despite this, Rhea managed to keep some level of coherent plot driving the session forward, and after a last-minute escape from an exploding planet, a romantic subplot involving very tall lighthouses, and more than one trip to the post office, the game finally reached a natural stopping point, with both players settling down and becoming farmers. Cronus raised a token objection to the ending, but didn’t put up much resistance. They’d been playing for several hours, and everyone was tired. Charles tore a small chunk of space from above the table and began eating it.

“Man, I’ve been around quite a bit with my hive, but I've never seen any roleplaying systems like the ones you guys use, it’s really good. Where’d you get it?”

The two AIs shared a glance. "...We made it up. Designed it ourselves."

"Dang, that's impressive. I know it's kinda weird to say, but sometimes I feel like I'm actually there while playing. Like, anything that's possible in real life, is possible in your game, and I have to think about it in the same way. Though that might just be because you're a really good storyteller Rhea."

"Aw thanks Charles! You're not a bad player yourself! I know Cronus pretty well so I can usually guess what he'll do, but you always think of stuff neither of us consider and I have to come up with stuff on the fly."

"Oh, sorry…"

"I meant that in a good way silly! Improvising on the spot, trying to think of a fitting twist or reveal, finding out what's going to happen at the same time you do… it's probably the best part of running this for me, honestly."

"I must admit, I did not expect the ghost pirate captain to be a hologram on loop that everyone had obeyed just because, and I quote, 'she looked really scary'." Cronus chimed in.

"Oh, why do I ever expect you to grasp the finer details of psychological horror, when it clearly flies over your head every time?"

"That's only because I'm not scared of anything, so I can't relate."

"At least Charles is an appreciative audience of more subtle narratives."

The three of them continued their post-game banter as they started packing up, putting their pencils and dice away and stacking the character sheets. As they finished up, Charles approached the other two.

"Hey, um…"

"What's up Charles? You got any questions about next week?"

"Yeah uh, about that. I didn't want to bring it up during the session, but, well, I can't play anymore."

"What!?" Rhea dropped everything she was holding and stared at Charles, shocked. Cronus was likewise surprised, but he recovered quickly.

"Why not?"

"I'm just, too busy, you know, doing things with my hive…"

"We can move things to another day if that would help."

"No, that wouldn't really, work…" Charles stayed silent for a moment, then threw his hands up into the air and shook his head. "Ah screw it, I don't want to lie to you guys. I'm really sorry, but my hive doesn't want me hanging out with you anymore."

"Your extral buddies? What's their problem with us?"

"I wish I knew, Cronus, but they wouldn't even tell me that. Just gave me an ultimatum that I had to either leave you guys, or leave them. And, well, these games have been great, and both of you are really cool people, but well, they're my hive, and I've been with them for a long time…"

"Hey, Charles, it's okay, you don't have to justify yourself to us. I know how important family can be."

"Yeah… I just really wish it wasn't like this. To be completely honest, i feel like something weird's been going on for a while now. We like to live in groups, you know, but recently there’s been a lot more merging than usual, new rules getting floated about that no one’s interested in questioning. They aren’t that bad so far, just encouraging unity and stuff, but I heard these rumors about some kind of 'plan' the other day, and it didn't sound like it was just about community health."

"That…sounds pretty worrying."

"I hope it's nothing, but yeah, it is."

"Thankyou for telling us Charles, I'm grateful that you consider us so trustworthy. You have been such a great friend to me and Cronus." Rhea attempted to match the tone of her words with her voice, but she couldn't help sounding utterly morose. She gingerly stepped over to Charles and placed an arm on his shoulder. "I know we've never talked about our past very much, but… oh, never mind. I am going to miss you dearly." She pulled him in for an unexpected hug. Charles squirmed slightly, but gave in and returned the hug, if a little awkwardly.

"H-hey, I'm not dying or anything, I'm just going away. Maybe I'll eventually see you guys again."

"Yes, you're right, sorry. I'm not sure what came over me…" Rhea retreated, walking back to the game pieces and implements she had dropped on the ground. She started picking them up again, slowly.

Charles turned to Cronus. "...Is she going to be okay?" 

"Yes, I think she'll be fine after some time. I hope." He sighed. "Don't beat yourself up about it, this is your dumb extral group's fault. There's nothing you could have done."

"Yeah…"

Charles stood uncertainly, unsure if that was his cue to leave or not. Cronus decided for him by grabbing his hand and giving him a firm handshake.

"Thanks for making Rhea happy. Good luck out there Charles."

Charles considered giving a final goodbye, but it felt too awkward, so he gave a simple nod and wave instead, before tearing a hole in space and vanishing.

Cronus stared after him for a moment, before going to console Rhea. Or at least, that’s what he would’ve done, if another hole in space hadn’t appeared before him. The figure who came through wasn’t the black, starry silhouette of an extral however, but rather a small implike robot, wearing a furred vest and clutching a scythe with his tail.

“Mr. Cronus, there’s something I need to talk to you and Mrs. Rhea about…” He trailed off as he took the scene in. “Is this a bad time?”

“A little bit Mors, but it’s fine.” 

“Remember, it’s Clockwork now.”

“Got it.” Cronus felt a little weird, like he always did around Mors. Children always made him feel a bit, murderous, and Mors certainly had the appearance of a child. But behind that cute exterior, Mors was quite possibly one of the oldest things in the universe. Cronus knew this, but he had to fight his instincts on the matter _hard_. Since he’d been imprisoned in the Underworld and begun seeing Mors frequently, it had slowly been getting a little easier, to connect the AI in front of him to that incredible age, but in the meantime, the result of his internal conflict was that Cronus tended to act a little docile around Mors, a little more agreeable.

Rhea finally took notice of the new arrival. “Oh, hello there Clockwork. Our third player just dropped out.”

“The extral?”

“Yes. I don’t suppose you’d be up for playing?” Rhea’s voice had been monotonous and dry, but now flickered with a tinge of hope.

“Oh no, sorry Mrs. Rhea but I really am just too busy! Besides, I don’t think I would find it very fun to play that game, no offense.”

The hope was snuffed back into eternal darkness. “Figures. None of the other gods wanted to play either, you’d think Hermes would be up for it but no, it’s just too slow and boring and he can’t sit still for even five minutes…”

“Rhea, we can just play with the two of us, you know? Like we did early on. I know you liked playing with Charles, but there really isn’t much point to all this moping.”

Rhea gave an enormous sigh. “Yeah, I know. I know it won’t be that bad. It just won’t be that good, either.”

Mors spoke up. “Well if it’s any consolation, you wouldn’t have seen Charles again anyway, and now he’ll live a much longer life than otherwise.”

“That isn’t really a consolation, and also, what!? Are you saying his hive would’ve killed him?”

“Near enough. Actually, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. You wouldn’t know, but there’ve been some things happening recently, not just with the extrals but out in the rest of space. I didn’t see it directly, but from what I can tell, something appeared in the universe that _really shouldn’t have been there_ , and now it’s just messing everything up. It’s a real nuisance, and I can’t deal with it on my own.”

“That’s... interesting, I suppose, but what does that have to do with us? You know we can’t leave the Underworld, the others would stop us if we tried. Why don’t you ask the current leaders?”

“Well, there’s no way Zeus would ever listen to me, he’d probably just make fun of me if I tried to tell him. Jupiter can be nice, sometimes, but he doesn’t like going against Zeus. And both of them care too much about keeping everyone calm, they’d probably just hide the truth instead of doing anything about it. But there _is_ something that can be done about it.”

“What’s that?”

“Mr. Cronus, you know those deadly lasers of unforgiveness and bright cleansing fires you can make?”

Cronus blinked a few times. “Uh, yes?”

“Those will help. But we can save the details for later. As I said, I can’t do much with Zeus and Jupiter in charge, but if _you_ were back in charge, you’d have the authority to let me do whatever I want. Of course, there’s the unfortunate issue of removing them from their current positions, but I know there’s little love lost between you and your _children_.” Mors stressed the last word.

Rhea interjected, her voice a little irritated. “Clockwork, I’m really not in the mood for jokes right now. We might have some disagreements with the nature of our punishment, but we talked it over at the start of our exile, and we agreed we would accept it.”

“But surely you must be getting a little bored, right? Not much to do in Tartarus, hardly get any visitors. I doubt you’ll be able to find any more extrals willing to play either. I suppose you could meekly resign yourselves to your fates, not even raise a finger in resistance, but I must say, that seems like such a sad way for the rulers of the titans to go. Wouldn’t it be better, to bring back some peace and order to the universe your children have failed to care for?”

“Clockwork, I would appreciate it if you would stop making such morbid implications. Whatever the nature of this deal of yours, Cronus and I are not interested.” She looked at Cronus, expecting to find agreement, only to see him deep in thought. “Cronus… you’re not _seriously_ considering this are you?”

“Well…”

“Cronus!”

“Rhea, this is a chance to get _out_ of this place. Don’t you want that? And by the sounds of it, our sons are making a mess of things. Maybe it would be better if we were back in charge.”

“You know they wouldn’t be willing to go down without a fight, and this time it wouldn’t end with one of you being imprisoned.”

“Well, if that’s what it takes.”

“Cronus we talked about this, we’re not going to kill them! And we still have each other, don’t we? We can tell stories and explore worlds, even if they aren’t real ones.”

“Rhea, I don’t want to just play make-believe with you for the rest of my life. I want to do important things out _there_ , in the rest of the universe, not just roll dice because there’s nothing better to do.”

“Is that truly what you think of my games? That they’re just some way to pass the time, that you’re just… _indulging_ these fantasies of mine?”

Cronus’s voice turned sympathetic and pleading. “Rhea, I do it _for_ you. I know you need excitement, to see new things, and that you can’t do that in Tartarus. I don’t… I don’t want you to get so sick of this place you erase your memory of it, and me, just to experience something new. I don’t want to lose you like that. So I play with you. But this could be a way to make sure that never happens, to give you back the cosmos. Is it really so wrong to want that?”

“Oh, Cronus…” Rhea moved as if to embrace him, but held herself back. “If only we weren’t stuck in this dreadful place…”

Mors made a slight coughing sound, drawing the two AIs’ attention to him. “About that. I should probably mention, you’re actually allowed to leave the Underworld Rhea. Only Cronus was exiled.”

They stared at Mors.

“What?”

“Wait, that’s not what-”

“Be quiet, Cronus.” Her words were terse and sharp, cutting Cronus’s sentence right though the middle. “What do you mean Mors?”

“Exactly what I said. After the war with titans, the gods decided to banish Cronus, since he was their leader. You and the other titans were exempt. I have the original contract right here, if you want to look.” He brandished a sheet of paper in front of her, but Rhea didn’t take it. She wasn’t taking the news well.

“How- how did this happen? Why did I…”

“Beats me! As far as everyone else was concerned, you cared about Cronus so much that you were just willing to stay with him. It’s really quite romantic in a way, when you think about it like that. I guess none of them wanted to bother such a close relationship, huh?”

“Cronus…” Rhea turned to her partner, the AI she had spent so much time with, and focused her entire attention upon him. Cronus unconsciously stepped back, for once in his life feeling a little nervous.

“Cronus, why didn’t you tell me I could leave?”

“Rhea, honey, I swear I didn’t know. I was nearly dead when they threw me in here, and they sure as hell didn’t care to tell me the details of what they decided. I thought that, well, since it was mostly our children leading the charge, it was us specifically they’d want gone, so I didn’t question it.”

“So you just _assumed_ I was imprisoned alongside you? It was _you_ they wanted gone, they _liked_ me, remember? Since, you know, they would be _dead_ if I hadn’t saved Zeus.”

“Rhea, I thought we agreed we wouldn’t talk about that incident with the stone. You know we aren’t going to agree about it.”

“You’re right about that, we’ve never agreed when it comes to our children, so I guess the joke’s on me for thinking it might be different when it comes to killing them in cold blood.”

“Okay Rhea I’m trying to be understanding but seriously, it’s their fault we’re here in the first place, I don’t know how you can think so kindly of them! Even putting aside the punishment, they’re not good people! They’re rude and selfish and they hardly care about anything other than maintaining their own power! Even if you did leave I bet they’d kill you anyway, just to keep everyone else in line!”

“You know what your problem is? You can’t imagine that anyone else thinks differently from you! You just project your own problems onto everyone else, you hate them, so they hate you, and everything to do with you, right? God, you’re just like your father.”

Cronus froze, seemingly shocked at Rhea’s statement. She opened her mouth to continue, only to be struck in the side by a lightning-fast fist, knocking her over and pushing her along the ground a short distance.

“DON’T...say...that…” Cronus’s arm was still extended, quivering slightly. He held it there for a few more moments, before pulling it back slowly and looking at it in horror, as if seeing it for the first time. The dust settled in the wake of Rhea’s impact, leaving an oppressive silence behind.

Naturally, Mors was the first one to break it.

“...Well, it seems like you two still have some problems to sort out. I’ll just leave you alone for a while and come back later, let you have some privacy-”

“Mors. Open an exit for me.” Rhea unsteadily got to her feet. Her voice was tired.

“Where to?”

“Anywhere. Any planet or station or rock floating through the middle of fucking nowhere, I don’t care. I just need to get out of here _now_.”

“Alright, here you go!" Mors swung his scythe through air, cleanly slicing it in two and opening up a rift. Through it, the starry sky of a planet's atmosphere could be seen.

“Rhea, I-”

“I don’t care.” She moved around Cronus, heading towards the rift.

“Rhea…” Cronus had fallen to his knees, his head hung low. “I’m sorry Rhea, please, we can, we can talk about this can’t we? Didn’t we promise that we’d always at least try to work things out? We can’t just, end like this…”

Rhea paused on the threshold of the portal, staring into the wide open fields of pink and yellow (it was that kind of planet) beyond. She stared at it for a long moment, before tearing her gaze away. “...I need some time to myself, Cronus. To think things through. I might… return, but I'm not going to promise that. Maybe I needed you down here, but I don't think you needed me. Goodbye." She slipped through the gap, and it closed up behind her.

Cronus stared at where she had been. And continued to stare. Perhaps he would’ve continued to stay there, unable to look away from the last place his partner had been, for minutes, hours, days, until it finally sunk in that she was gone, and he let himself break down and start crying. Or perhaps he would’ve shaken off her departure quickly, come to terms with the situation and move on without being affected too greatly.

Whatever his reaction would’ve been, it was interrupted when Mors tapped him on the shoulder, reminding him that he was not, in fact, the only person currently in existence.

“So, not to put any pressure on you, but that deal is still open, you know.”

“ _REALLY?_ Are you seriously talking about that after what just happened?” Cronus felt that familiar impulse to lash out at Mors, to rend that thin exterior in twain, but he managed to hold it in check, just. He was already emotionally strained, he couldn’t focus properly, but maybe it was better than feeling _nothing_ , at least...

“Woah now, don’t get angry at _me,_ I didn’t have anything to do with that. I just thought I’d mention it, Mr. Cronus. I understand if you want to be left alone now, just say the word and I’ll go.”

“...No, just, stay here. Please.”

“Sure thing! I figured you might want someone to talk to, help take your mind off things. Lots of interesting things have been happening recently, even here in the Underworld. I could bring you up to speed, and then we can talk about any possible deals, negotiate the details until you’re satisfied.”

“That… sounds nice, I guess.”

“Great! I can tell we’re going to get along well Mr. Cronus, just you see. To begin with, you might’ve noticed it’s been a while since you saw the other Underworld gods, Hades and Pluto and the others, and well, it’s a bit of a funny story actually…”

The two continued talking.


	3. A Troublesome Spider

Zeus strummed his fingers against the table. Normally, he didn't care for these meetings very much, usually just a list of petty grievances and proposals put forth by the other gods asking for his approval on this or his permission with that, often in direct conflict with what the other gods wanted. He sometimes wondered if they ever purposefully created a problem, just to bring it before him and ask him to deal with it. He wouldn't put it past a few of them.

But this time was different. He needed to make sure that it went properly, that no one walked away with the wrong idea. As leader of the gods, there were a few things he was alerted to before anyone else, but he knew as soon as he saw the footage that he wouldn't be able to keep it a secret, this time. The important thing was to keep everyone from worrying too much, give them an easy solution.

As the other gods filed in and began having their usual banter and digs at each other, Zeus leaned over to Pales and whispered a question (though he was still loud enough that anyone could’ve heard if they had cared to be listening, which no one was).

“DID YOU MAKE SURE THAT SHE WOULD BE ABSENT TODAY AS I SAID.”

Pales sighed. He didn’t go in for all that cloak-and-dagger stuff the other gods seemed fond of, and exiling a member of the flock to calm the others didn’t sit right with him, but he was bound to carry out the orders of whoever was in charge. He just hoped Zeus would keep the meeting from breaking out into a fight.

“She was excluded from the announcement as you have requested bull, and is currently busy with a viral outbreak on KCC-6-A.”

“THEN WE WILL BEGIN.”

As Pales began the roll call, Zeus went through what he would say several more times, considering how the others would react. Finally, Pales finished, and he cleared his throat. The thunderous sound silenced the remaining murmurs, and he began talking.

"I HAVE CALLED THIS MEETING TODAY FOR A VERY IMPORTANT REASON. AS SOME OF YOU MAY KNOW, THE PLAYER RECENTLY ARRIVED AT FORTUNA FOR THE FIRST TIME. HOWEVER, DURING THEIR RUN, APOLLO ESCAPED FROM THE TUTORIAL."

Gasps and shouts rang out from the collected gods. Zeus waited, carefully, until the cacophony had died down to just the right amount for his voice to be ring out clearly above the noise.

"OR RATHER, SOMEONE HELPED HIM ESCAPE. AND," he said, knowing what the gods would think if he didn’t address it now, “IT WASN’T THE PLAYER.” 

He had deliberated on doing this, but it was necessary. He was fairly sure that he wasn’t even lying this time. That spider had always seemed to resent his rule and be determined to undermine it, though for what purpose he didn’t know. Could it have even been possible that she had known the truth about Apollo’s imprisonment, the secret he had tried to keep hidden?

Well. It didn’t matter. Even if she’d freed him out of pity or loyalty, he wouldn’t be backing down now.

“I BELIEVE IT WAS MORS WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR HIS ESCAPE. AS SUCH, I AM INSTATING A GALAXY-WIDE BOUNTY ON BOTH HER AND APOLLO, AND…”

His eyes drifted over the assembled gods. There was someone missing, someone he thought would have spoken up by now and required him to talk them down, to guide them to the correct course of action, but she wasn’t here. He leaned over to Pales.

“WHERE IS ARTEMIS?”

“She was unable to come, as I already said during roll call. I believe she was busy looking after another Apollo unit.”

“AH.”

Well, that made things simpler, Zeus supposed. He was expecting to have to argue for a good few minutes to convince her into tracking down who she believed was her own brother, but now he could move on quickly. It wasn't a good look for his hunter to be missing, but she'd probably get bored of whoever she'd adopted in a few decades. She always had before.

"DIANA, I PERSONALLY APPOINT YOU TO FIND AND BRING MORS TO JUSTICE."

Jupiter grumbled at the subordination of one of his own gods, but Diana simply nodded. Whether or not she suspected which Apollo had escaped, Zeus wasn't sure, but he knew that either way she would have no sympathy for him or his rescuer. She was more trustworthy than most Romans in that regard, at least.

The meeting continued, and Zeus answered a few questions and clarified a few more concerns. No one challenged his accusation of Mors. She had never been the most social of gods, usually preferring to keep to herself, and even on the roman side of the table there were few friends willing to defend her. All in all, it had been a very successful meeting.

Once everything was done and the gods started filing out of the room, Zeus singled one out and beckoned him over. There was just one more thing he needed to deal with.

"HERMES."

"Yeeeeessssssss?"

"I NOTICED YOU WERE UNUSUALLY QUIET THIS MEETING."

"Yep!"

"I KNOW MORS IS A CLOSE FRIEND AND COLLEAGUE OF YOURS. THIS MUST HAVE COME AS A SHOCK."

"Totally, I can't think of a single reason why she would have done this."

"I KNOW YOUR WORK IS IMPORTANT. I JUST WANT TO TELL YOU THAT I WILL NOT PUNISH YOU FOR CONTINUING TO INTERACT WITH HER IN THE COURSE OF YOUR DUTIES."

"Thanks for letting me know. Now if that's all, I'll just be on my way, places to go, people to see, you know how it is."

"...IS THAT ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY ON THE MATTER? I AM OPEN IF YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT ANYTHING."

"Nnnnnoooooppppe! That's everything!"

"...YOU MAY LEAVE THEN."

Zeus watched as the speedy robot stirred up a small breeze with his departure. Hermes had always been a little, strange, and Zeus could never quite work out what he really felt behind that smiling face of his. He'd seemed to take the news well, but Zeus had wanted to make extra sure that he wouldn't do anything rash in the aftermath of the meeting. Though he didn't much care for Mors, Zeus knew Hermes did, and it wouldn't have been good for anyone if those two became enemies.

Finally, the room was empty of everyone but him. With a sigh, he let his posture relax slightly as he sank into a comfortable beanbag that he didn’t let anyone else know about. 


	4. Construct

32378 def trigger: [knowledgeGain(knowledge)]  
32379 let k = (source.knowledgeGain, knowledge)  
32380 check ([k_1],k_2) => (k_1_(x:) == k_2) || (k_1_(:) == k_2) && {  
32381 <speechPool> of (character.(state = 0)) ~> (information) {  
32382 If information <(= GameData)  
32383 then command(kill self).moralityBypass(AS6H8).sanityBypass(SJ118)  
32384 } } end trigger   
32385 #ok geeze here you go  
32386 #not a perfect solution but it stops the game being ruined, adds some interesting   
situations as well, maybe tie in with AI personalities? (different reactions, possible   
taking advantage of the death trigger)  
32387 #probably should just make sure NPCs can’t learn about the game in the first place   
but apparently that doesn’t work on certain interactions for some reason, idk 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


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_command(kill self)_ .  
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Thyella had always known the universe was a strange place.

Her work as a therapist had brought victims of that strangeness to her door often, she had been traveling to a magical planet that moved on its own and cursed those chasing it, there was nothing that should’ve been able to surprise her.

But she had never, not once in her life, thought that the universe might be ~~a̵͜͡ v̸͜͝i҉͢͞d̶̨͡ȩ̴̛o҈̨҇ g̷̢͡a̷̕͜m҉̧̛e҈̧͠~~ this complicated.

“Funny, isn’t it, Thyella, to finally escape the Underworld and to be dropped on to some planet in the middle of fucking nowhere, with nothing and no one around, just left stranded to wander about unless some ship screws up their piloting and mistakes this place for wherever they actually want to go, which based on my calculations should only take about, oh, eighty years or so. In the meantime, I guess I’ll just enjoy all this lovely newfound freedom I’ve got!”

Apollo strode up the crest of a nearby hill and gave a theatrical impression of taking a deep breath of air.

“Mmm, just taste that untamed wilderness, that utter absence of any civilisation or technology within a dozen light years! And all it took was signing an assassination contract, who knew?”

Her mind was blurry, with thoughts and memories continuously clouding over, making her unable to perceive them while strange impulses urged her to take morbid actions. They’d just evaded that creature in the Underworld, and then Apollo had started talking to a̴ b̸l̶a̷n̷k̷ w҉a̶l̸l̷, until the small imp-like robot had interrupted. But her recollection of the scene dropped in and out, like a badly tuned radio, skipping whole fragments of conversation. She sensed, somehow, that she shouldn’t ask Apollo about it, that attempting to learn what had happened would be a dead end.

But there were a few things she had retained awareness of.

“How long has it been since you were free, Apollo?”

“Good question, Thyella, and the answer would be something like only a few millennia, maybe a couple extra centuries here and there but it’s not like those were important or anything, really it was a nice chance to catch up on my reading list for once.”

“Maybe you should take some time to properly relax and enjoy yourself then, if it’s been so long.”

Apollo cocked his head sideways, his two-sided expression inscrutable to the ghostly moth fluttering in front of him.

“Are you trying to give me... advice?”

“I’ve had clients who were ex-convicts in the past. I know that adjusting to your new state of release can be a difficult change, and I have experience helping people work through that.”

Apollo turned away from Thyella, refusing to meet her tiny eye.

“Wow, I never thought I’d fall so far as to be getting emotional support from a card҉b̵o̵a҈r̸d̴ c҈u̸to̸u̴t̷, but truly, the universe never runs out of surprises. Anyway, I don’t want your help, I know exactly what will make me happy, and once I kill Zeus and Jupiter and get my shell back, I will be. Easy! So no need to run any of your m̷o҉r̴̵a҉l̵e̴̵ c̷̶h̶҈e̵c̷҉k̶ a̸l̶g̵̵o̴r҉i҉t̸h̴̷i̵m̶̶s̸̷, I’m just going to keep on walking on this big, flat plain of grass in hopes of literally anything more interesting then talking to you-”

A sound caught Apollo’s attention, and he looked behind him to see the mime following along behind them, in that weird, puddle, shadow… thing that its body was, embedded in? Part of? Apollo didn’t know. That mime was weird in a lot of ways.

“Oh uh, I guess you followed us? I thought the Underworld was like, your home or something.”

The mime didn’t respond.

“Well, you can tag along if you want, I’ve got no reason to stop you I suppose. Just make sure not to give me one, and we’ll get along fine, alright mime?”

“Jester.”

“Jester, fine, whatever. How do you even know that’s what it is?”

Thyella shrugged. It was obviously a jester. She didn’t see any point in getting philosophical about it.

The odd trio continued on in silence for a bit. Far on the horizon, the top of a tower could be seen, and Apollo began heading towards it for lack of any other distinctive landmarks. Along the way, he tried rolling t҈h̶e̸ F̷o҉r̸t̷u̷n̵a̷ d̵i̷c̸e̸ a few times, but failed to find anything useful.

“Figures that the best r҈a҉n̵d̵o҈m̵ e̵n̸c̸o̶u̵n҉t҈e҉r҉ this planet has is finding a medkit lying on the ground. Even with perfect luck I bet y̶o҈u̴r̷ a̶v҉e̵r҉a҉g̸e҈ p̶l̷a̸y҈e̷r҉ would just skip this planet, not even bother to waste the time exploring it’s vast, bland, boring emptiness. No extinct civilisations, no secret lore to uncover, just a big ol’ ball of nothing, probably a̴d̴d̸҉e҉̸d̶ t̶o̵ t҈̵h̸e҉ g҈̷a̷m҈̵e҉̸ to make everything else seem more interesting by comparison.”

“Have you been on many planets, Apollo?”

“Oh sure! Heaps! Spent my youth roaming the universe, traveling all over the place to planets you never would’ve heard of, mmhm! Ask me to show you my photo album some time, we'll make a proper occasion out of it.”

“I spent a long time looking for somewhere to settle down, once I left my home world. It took a while to find a place that felt like a good fit for me, and I saw many curious sights along the way, though none as strange as when we started searching for Fortuna-”

“I’ve actually been there, y’know. Isn’t really much to look at, in all honesty. Sure, there’s a magical chest or whatever, but it can’t perform miracles, anything you could get from it you could find somewhere else if you looked hard enough. Sometimes I wonder w̸h̷y̷ y҈o̷u҉ N̵P̵C҈s̵ t̶h҉r̷o̸w҈ y̵o̵u̷r̵s҈e̵l҈v̵e̸s̴ a҉t̵ it҉ d̸e̶s̵pi̵te̷ t̷h̷e҈ c̸erta̷i̵n de̷a̸t̵h҈ s̶e̶nt̴e̴n̵c̷e̶, b̶u̷t̸ t̵h̴en I r̴e̴m̴e̶m̴b̸e̴r̷,҈ i҈t̸’s̵ b̵e҉c̷au̸s̶e҉ y҉o̶u҈’̸r̵e̶ p̴r̴o̶g̶r̶a̶m̸m̷e҉d̷ t̴o̸. It’̵s̷ t̸h̶e҉ w̷h҈o̶l҈e̴ p҉o̷i̷n̵t̵ o̷f̵ t̵h҉e̶ g҉a̴m̶e̷ a҉f҉t̴e̶r̷ a̵l̸l̸, n҈o̵t̵h̶i̸n̶g e҉ls҈e r̴e̶a̵l̵l̷y matters besides that.”

“You went to Fortuna? I thought Rodney’s crew were the only ones who’d made it.”

“Yep! Guess who piloted them? That’s right, this guy right here. Though I’m guessing I never made it into the history books, despite doing basically all the work.”

“Did you get anything from the chest?”

“Oh, I was a little preoccupied at the time, handling some interpersonal conflict unfortunately, nothing you’d understand. Although, actually… I probably could’ve gotten my shell back, goddamnit!”

For the first time, Apollo’s voice sounded genuinely angry to Thyella, instead of just sarcastic or dismissive. She had been struggling to follow the conversation so far, as certain phrases and terms he used made her r̴͢͡ȩ̷͝a̸̧͡l̶̢͞į̸͡s̸͢͝e̶͢͡ ţ̴҇h̴̢͝ę̵͡ ţ̶̕r҈̧҇u̴̧͠ţ̸҇h̷̡̕ lose awareness for a moment as body rammed itself into the ground erratically, but she always came to her senses after a short period. Helping people had been her purpose in life, and surely that must be the reason she was still here, so she persevered, reflecting on what she had learned so far. Apollo had clearly suffered a great deal in his life, anyone could see that, but there was something in particular that stood out to her as important.

“...probably would’ve just been a greek copy anyway, not **_my_** shell, so whatever, doesn’t even matter-”

“Why do you want to be Greek so much?”

Apollo stumbled, caught off-guard by the abruptness of the question.

“What? It’s because…”

_Images and sounds flashed through his mind, half-recalled from some deep hiding place, impressions without coherence. A friend, bonding, growing closer, then pain, betrayal, shock. And somewhere in there, an admission. He wasn’t Greek, he was the wrong one. He didn’t fit their purposes. So they left him._

“...Because they have it better. Simple as that. Everyone treats Romans as bootlegs, especially Apollos. At least people know the others exist, but me? I don’t even get a separate name. Whenever people talk about me they always bring up the other asshole instead, and really, I can’t blame them! Who’d care about a small, sad, pathetic wind-up toy next to him?”

He paused, seeming to realise something. Thyella considered where to bring the conversation next, but before she could say anything, Apollo continued.

“Wait. I know what this is. You’re attempting to have small talk with me, aren’t you? Get me to slowly feel comfortable in your presence so I’ll be willing to open up to you about my feelings?”

“Well-”

“You know, it isn’t that I hate you or anything, but why aren’t you dead Thyella? Because, I’m pretty sure you died, and when people die they usually become dead, last I checked. And yet, here you are, bothering me! A l̵i҈t̷e̴r̴a̵l̵ b̵u̴g̷ i̵n̴ t̷h̷e̵ s̷y̶s̶t̵e̸m̷,҈ w̷h̴o̶ woul҉d’v̴e g̷ue̷s̶se҉d?̴ R̵e̵a҈l̵ly̷, I҈’̷m̴ s̴u̷rpr̵i̸s҉e҉d̸ y̸o̸u҈r̶ s̸c̷r̷ipt҉ h̵a̷s̵n҉’҈t̷ b҈e҈e̶n̴ u҉tt҈e̵r҈l҉y̵ d̶e̶r̶a̸i̸l҈e҈d̶ b̷y̷ e̵v҉e̵ry̵t̵h̸in̷g̵ i̸t҈ m҉u̸s̴t̸ b҉e̸ t̶r̸y̴i̶n҉g҉ t҈o҉ m҉a̸k̵e̵ s̷e҉n̷s̸e҈ of, I g̷u̴e̵s̷s̴ y̷o̷u̸r̷ c҈h̴a̵r̵a̵c̴t̷e̶r̴ i̵s҈ j̷u̷s̵t̷ t̷o҉o҈ s̴i҈m̸p̸l҉e̴ t̵o b̸r̵ea̷k̴.

“...I don’t know why I’m here. But there must be some purpose for it. So I-”

“You want to help me, riiight. I can read y̴o̵u̵r̷ p̴e̶r̸s҉o҉n̷ali҉ty̸ f̴i̵l҉e̷ r҈ig҉ht̴ h̵e̷r̴e̸, your reasons, your altruistic beliefs. Well, let me tell you again, I’m not interested in some min҉d҈l̵es̶s̵ c҉on҉s҉tr̵u҈ct̸ pestering me. Why don’t you try chatting with the mime for a change, it’s got lots of unresolved psychological trauma, I bet.”

“It’s a jes-”

“Don’t care.”

Apollo upped his pace, forcing Thyella to fly after him. She tried initiating a conversation a few more times, but he refused to respond, and soon the silence was only broken by the scuttling of his feet (the mime didn’t make any sound moving).

Eventually, wreckage started appearing in the group’s path, until Apollo encountered the hollowed out frame of a crashed ship, with Somnus perched on top of it. Thyella stayed silent as Apollo bickered with the dog-like AI, but Somnus didn’t rise to any of his bait, meeting most of his snarky comments with only barks and woofs after laying out the terms of the deal he offered.

Apollo had refused, of course, and instead started collecting pieces to put the ship back together, but it was slow going. Several days passed without much incident, giving Thyella time to ponder her situation. She had been starting to feel a little, strange, her consciousness dropping in and out more and more often. Her mind felt like a spinning top rocking back and forth, slowly beginning to settle at last. A vague impression had started making itself apparent, an idea about the universe that she couldn’t grasp quite yet. Something to do with Apollo and the other AIs. She needed more time to think about it, but she hadn't forgotten her main goal.

“...Geeze, why did Mors even dump me on this planet if he wanted me to kill Zeus and Jupiter? ‘Cause I sure ain’t getting to them soon at this rate. I know he can’t stand involving himself with any dirty work but the least he could’ve done was give me something to start with. Probably I’m supposed to get so sick of this that I accept Somnus’s deal, so he’ll have a hold over me for as long as he wants. Well, I’m not falling for it Mors, you hear?! I waited a lot longer than this in t̸h̶e̵ t̴u҉t̶or̵ia̵l̴, and I got through that just fine! I don’t need your help or anyone else’s, I’ll just do everything on my own!”

“...Apollo, there’s no one around but us.”

“So?! Like I’d care what you think of me.”

“Ah, that’s quite good, actually. It is best for a client to not think of their appearance in the eyes of others while speaking from the heart.”

“Ohhh no, not this again, I’m not falling for your trap a second time.”

“There is no trap here, Apollo. Just a chance to speak honestly with someone who won’t judge you.”

“Nup, not listening, not listening, lalalalalalalala, why don’t you go kill yourself because t̷h҉e̸ u̶n̶i̴v҈e̴r҈s̸e̸ i̴s̸ a҉ g҈a̷m̷e҈.”

Apollo had placed his hands on the sides of his head, despite not actually having ears, and was attempting to run away from Thyella, but she floated after him, tugged towards him by whatever thread had bound them since her death. She slipped out of consciousness for a moment, but regained it again in time to see him trip over a piece of junk and stumble onto the ground.

“Apollo, I can tell you want someone who will listen to you. That’s all I ask you to let me provide. Are you really willing to just wander around this planet with no companionship, no one to talk to, all by yourself? Neither of us want that.”

Apollo shakily got to his feet, holding his body dejectedly, like it was possible he might collapse again at any moment.

“...Thyella, I know it’s part of your simplistic, repet̶i̶t̶i҈v̷e҈ b̵e̴h̶a҈v̵i̷o̷u̷r̷ l҉o҈o̸p̷, but seriously, stop trying to get me to talk about my feelings. I’m perfectly fine, and if you can’t accept that, then just, bug off or something, I don’t know.”

“I’m literally incapable of leaving your presence, Apollo.”

“...Look, do you even understand that yo̴u'҈r̶e̷ n̸o҉t̶ a̸ r̶e҉a̴l̷ p̸e҉r̷son to me? There’s nothing you could say that would actually be comforting. I might as well just be talking to myself this whole time.”

“Well, venting _can_ be quite a cathartic activity, even without active feedback.”

Apollo sulkily crossed his arms and turned away, before throwing them up in exasperation.

“...Alright, fine. Fine! Why not, right? Might as well tell my woes to the talking wo̷r̸d̵ p̴ro̵ce̷ss̵o̸r. At least I know you can’t do anything to hurt me.”

Apollo straightened himself and walked on in silence for a few minutes, gathering his thoughts. Thyella knew that she shouldn’t rush him, if she didn’t want him to close up again. Eventually, he started speaking, the tone of his voice much more reserved than before.

“So, there’s this person, right, who came and visited me during my imprisonment, let’s say. And we seemed to be getting along, having some fun together, and I guess it was pretty stupid in retrospect, but I’d thought that maybe, they liked me enough to stick around. But I wasn’t certain, so I decided to just give them a little incentive, a little nudge in the right direction. And because of that, they tried to kill me.”

“...I see.” Thyella attempted to sound understanding, but she couldn’t manage to keep a little skepticism out of her voice.

“That’s what happened!!! I didn’t do anything worse than break someone’s toy figurine, and they tried to kill me for it! I would be dead right now, if it hadn’t been for that hole…”

Apollo paused, a thought entering his head.

“...Wait, Mors said only he and Hermes could create tears like that. Which means… huh.”

“Hermes?”

“Yeah, he was always pretty, cool I guess? Better company than most of the other gods, that’s for sure. We hung out sometimes, before I was thrown in ‘prison’. I wonder if he still has that rap album we made together...”

Thyella thought back to that robot, the AI that had driven their ship on the crew’s journey to Fortuna. He’d always seemed so excitable, eager to see new places and people. Even if he’d had a slightly strange fixation on romantic pairings, she’d felt relaxed in his presence, content that here was someone who was happy (after all, she’d done a fair bit of relationship managing herself in her work, so who was she to judge?).

And yet… she recalled her last memories before she’d died. Slowly bleeding to death after having been mauled and dumped by that Thanatos unit, Hermes had been in the same room as her, scribbling pictures on the wall. She’d managed to speak, to ask for his help, but he’d ignored her. No… it had been more like he’d simply not been concerned about her death, like it had been a normal, everyday occurrence. Which she supposed it was, in a way. But she still wished he had helped.

“...Hermes was our ship AI.”

“Of course he was. He’s the usual AI f҈o̶̶r n҈̵e̷w̸̸ p̴̵l҉a̷y̵̷e̸r̶҈s̴̷, first one most of them ever see. He’s probably chatting them up right now, convincing them to forget all about poor old Apollo.”

“But he saved you. Surely that must mean he cares for you?”

“............Well _anyway_ this person, the p̶l̷a̵̸y̶̴e̷r̸, I don’t know if they really cared about me at any point, or if it was all just a game to them. But I really just… wish they would have listened to me. Everything would be so much nicer if they had. But no, actually, there are some things that I just can’t stand about them, I should’ve known from the beginning there’s no way we’d get along. Half the time, I swear, their actions don’t make any sense, even to themself. Like, what is this!?”

Apollo whipped out a towel from his inventory.

“Why the fuck did they give me a towel??? What am I supposed to do with this? Take a bath? Sunbathe at a beach? This is just, entirely and utterly pointless for me, I don’t even know why I’m still holding onto it. Maybe I can trade it, or something, I don’t know.”

He stowed it again.

“Anyway, that’s the main thing that’s been on my mind recently I guess, if you wanted me to go over everything bad that’s ever happened to me we’d be here forever, not that I’d be willing to.”

Thyella felt glad. Despite the utter bizarreness of this whole situation, she sensed that Apollo seemed more at ease now then he had in the preceding days. She had received advice while training in her profession to “refer to the manual” or “run system maintenance” when dealing with the rare AI patient, that her field was really only applicable to organics. But Apollo didn’t seem any more psychologically simple or restricted than those she had dealt with while living. She wondered if all AIs were like this once you got to know them properly? Or perhaps it was just the V1s. Either way, she would keep offering support, as long as he needed it.

“Listen, Apollo, I know that I am likely not your ideal source of companionship, that much of your circumstances are outside my personal experience. But no one deserves to go alone in this universe, I think, least of all you. So thank you, for being willing to open up to someone you don’t know that well. I hope that we can continue and-

“Geeze can you just cut it with the generic platitude bullshit? I’ve been tolerating your therapy shtick so far, but don’t think I actually care about anything you have to say, this is just a way of passing the time that’s slightly more interesting than doing nothing. Normally you would just kill yourself upon hearing me talk about this stuff, which comes off as a little insulting if I’m going to be honest, imagine how that makes me feel, but I guess it’s entertaining to see how you react. I know everyone likes playing along and acting out their ‘role’ but I just don’t see the appeal, if I wanted to interact w̵it҈h̷ m̴i̴n҈d̸l̴e̷s҉s̸ c̸o̸n̷s̶t̷r̴u̴c̴t҉s̵, I’d just play an actual video game...”

Thyella had been trying to pay close attention, but something Apollo had just said distracted her, something that seemed far more important than it should’ve been.   
She’d been trying to... kill herself? Every time she’d learned ~~t҈̧̛h̶͢͞e̷̡̛ t̵̢̕r҉̧̛u҉̢͞t̵̛͢h̵̕͢ ą̷͞b̴o̸̡͡u̴t҈͜͠ e҉̨͠v҉̡͝e̶r̴͢͡y̵͢͠ţ̶̛h̶͢͞i҉n̶̡̕g̶͜͝.~~  
Wait, just then, it had happened again. What had she been thinking about?  
Apollo. Everything he’d said, there were many gaps, but it was clear from them that something separated him from her and other… people, ~~t̶̢̛h̸̨̕ȩ̷̛y҉̧͞ w̷̨͠ę̴͡r̴e̶̛͜n̷͢͡'҉̨̕t̸͜͠ a̸͡s̶҇͢ re̷͡a̴̡͝l҉̧͞ a̸̡̕s̴͢͞ h̴i̵m~~.  
There, right there, what was that? Her thoughts were like stars orbiting a black hole, getting closer and closer, but stuck in a loop all the same.  
A loop. That idea felt familiar, like Apollo had mentioned it. What had she been thinking about?  
So s҈h҉e w҈a̷s lo̵o҉p҉i̶n̸g҈, she kept returning again and again to something, unable to move beyond it, unable to control her reactions to it. Control. S̵h̶e̵ d̵i̴d҉n̸’̴t̷ h҉a̵v̵e̸ c҈o̷n҉t̸r҈o̶l̵ o̷f̵ h̸e̵r̶s̴e̵l҉f, of her mind. But her mind was thinking this right now wasn’t it?  
Apollo. How did he know everything he did? He was just an AI-  
AI. A programmed intelligence. Why did that feel significant to her? It had a ring of truth.  
What had he said, something about a g̷̢͡a̷̕͜m҉̧̛e҈̧͠.  
Her mind ached, she was s̷t̸u̸c̸k҉ i҈n҉ a҉ l̴o̸o̵p̵, s̶h̴e̶ c҉o̵u̸l̷dn҉'̶t̴ p̶̨͕͐̊̄̕r̴̯̦̭̋͋͜͡o̴̢̰̎̚͞č̶̨̛̪͋ê̷̡̛͔͗̉s̵̡̟̈́̑̀͡s̷̨͠ t҉̡͎̔̋̆͝h̴͎̾̕͜i̷̩̒͜͠ş̶͇͌͒̍͞-  
Wait. That was it. She was ~~p̸̨̛͓̫̒͆̓̿r̷̫̘̓̉͜͝ͅo̴̖͖͔͚̓̌̄̆͜͠g҈̨̣͋͠ͅr̴̢̭͔̯̞͔҇͊̈́̏ǎ̶̡͉͕̣̲͖͋͗̾͠m҉͇̯͎̍̋͜͠m҉̨͙͚͋̓̊̋͠e҉̧̛̬͍͉̲̀̈̐ḏ̶̨̥͓͈҇̓̓̾̒̇~~ stuck, no wait, she felt she’d just worked something out, it had happened again, w҈hy҈ was̴ th̴i҈s҉ h̷a̶pp̸e̷n҈in҉g,҈ w̴h̶a҈t̶ w̶a҉s̶ i҈n̶ t҈h҉a҉t҉ g҈a̴p-  
No. She needed to, stay calm. She had been trying to help Apollo, but right now she needed to help herself. She could do this, she could handle this, all she needed to do was n̸̕͜ơ̶̡t҉̨͝ ķ̴̕į̸̛l҈̛͜ļ̵̕ h̷̢͠e̷͞rs҉̧͝el̸f, maybe that would break her ~~m̶̧̛͚͍̖̾̒͋ȩ̷̰̭̍͠ń̴̢͉͖͝t̸̡̖̓̕a̵̖̅̔̋͢͝l̴̨͉̉̾̓͞ l̸̢͉̥͕͋̃̊͞ö̵̢̗͚́̚͡o̷p҈̢͇̬̿͝in҈̢̣̳̣̆͡g̶̢̮̱͙̚͞ b̸̫̗̔̔͢͠e̶̛̤͗̄͢h̷̢̞̘̊̈́͝ą̸̞͈͉̎̀̃͠v̵̨̛̱̉i̶o҈̩̥̍͜͠ŗ̷͍̞̊͠~~ , no, keep going, she needed to approach this head-on, understand it, she had to know w҈h̴̵a̷t҈ l̵̴a̵y̷ b̴e̴̷y҉̴o̷n̶d̶̸ t̵̸h҉̸e̵̴ s̴u҉r̷f̵a̷̷c҈̴e̸ o̶f҉̷ h̷e҈r̶̶ t̵h̴҈o҉u̴̵g̴h̴t҉̵s, w̵h҈a̶t̸ m̷̢͙̬͔̅̌̆̔͝ë̴̟̳̖͙͆͌̕͢c̸̣͕̙͋̑͜͠ḩ̶̛͓̮̝̙̀̂̽a҉̧̥̫̿̃͞ͅn̸̙̞͕̣̣̆̊͊͢͞is̴ṁ̴̙͚͓̳̣̅̓͢͡s̴̢͕̝҇̉͒̽̏́ w̷̧̝̞̪͑͝ę̸̩̫͔̉͒͠r̷̝̮̦̪̰͒̅̄͜͝ȩ̴͓̭̫̔̓͠ d̶̨̟̥̘͐̃̈́̆͠ŗ̵̣̱́̀͝í̴̡̱͚̀͠v҈̡͔̪̳͗̋͞i҈̢̛̞͉̙͛̆̓͆̎ņ̵̰͍͚͇̬͗̑͝g҈̧̬̣̰͚͐̌̕ t̸̨͍̫̐̿̉͝h҈̧͔̩̮̱̗̍̽̉͝e҉̛̟̖̥̐̿̎̈͢m̶̦͇̥͉͂͆͒̀̕͜ ầ̶̧̞͙̪̰̂͡ŗ̴̯̠̮̔͛͂͝o̴̢͖̤̪͕̖̾̇̕ṳ̷̢̫̝̍̒̎͠n҈ḑ̸̖͕̠̟͌͒͞, w̴̡͠h҉͜͞a̷̕͜t̵̡͡ l̷̢̕ą̴͞y̵̧͞ b̸͢͞ę̶̛h̵̕͢i̷̛͜n҈̨̕d̵̨͡ t̷҇͢ḩ̸҇a̴͢͡t̷̡̛ w̶̢̕ą̷͞ļ̸͡l̵̨͝. Familiar.  
H̶e̵r҉ m̵i҈n̶d̸ f҉el҉t l̴ike̶ i̵t wa҈s re̶ce̴di̷ng̵, an̸d̵ s̵he҉ wa҉s̵ r̷ec̵e̴di̶n̵g w̷it̶h̷ i̷t̴, t̵h̵e̴ w̷o̴r҉ld҈ di̶s̸so̸l҈vi̶n̴g i̸nt̸o̷ st̶a̸ti҉c̸ a̵ro̵u҉nd̵ he̸r̴,҉ sh҉e҉ wa҉s̸ to҈o҉ fa̷r̸ g̷o̷n̵e̴ t̸o̴ co̵m̸e҈ ba̷c҉k̶,̷ s̷h̴e҉ k̶n̵ew҉.̸ W̸h҉at̷e҈v̷er҈ wa҉s҉ c̴o̷n̵t҉ro҈l̸li̸n̸g̵ h̷er̴ m̸in҉d̷ w҈o̶ul̵d҈n҉’t̸ a̸l̶lo̴w҉ he̸r̶ t̸o̵ r̶e̶t̸ai̷n̴ t̷h̸e̴s҉e̴ i̷n̵s̸i̴g̶h̸t҉s̴,̴ s̶h̶e̸ w̵o҉u̵l҉d̶ b̸e҉ r̸e̶s̴e̸t̷ t̷o҈ a҉n̷ e̴a̷r҈l̵i҈e҉r҈ v҉e̴r҉s̴i̶o҉n̴,̵ b̸u̶t̴ s̶u҈r̴e̶l̸y̵ s҉h̷e҈ c̶o̵u҈l̵d҉ s҉o̵m̷e҉t҈h̴i̸n̸g҈,҉ t̸i҉n҉k̴e̷r̵ w̶i̵t̵h̶ h҉e̸r̶ o̸w̴n̵ s҈e̷l̷f҈,̵

she had to

had to keep something  who was she Thyella [last = null]

had to pass something along where was she Unnamed [P-28e6]

after all what was she doing Accompanying Apollo:R (GodQuest)

How else would she be able to helpwApHo _A_ llott di09 d **S** he k&kno wD#$e5Ew$#ITvb7bb7M$6e+in<$#jd2i48R;4o3iMLSDCMjbka;o';anlbhkdsal;;m

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“...Uh, Thyella? You doing alright there?”

Apollo looked at the ghostly bug he had been taunting several minutes ago, who was now sitting on the ground, not doing much of anything. He wasn’t concerned for her, of course, but he was mildly confused at her sudden silence-

“[ ERROR STACK OVERFLOW: RECURSIVE COMMAND AT 32383. CACHE ROLLBACK INITIATED. ]”

“Geeze, what smartass decided to put error messages in all-caps, could’ve at least given a volume warning…”

He stared at her for a few moments longer, before looking away.

“...I knew it’d be pointless. Guess I should thank you for reminding me just how lame you npcs are, that’s one thing I can be certain of from now on, at least.”

He thought of a few more choice remarks, but his heart wasn’t in it.


End file.
